Whole blood and its components, including erythrocytes (red blood cells, RBCs), platelets, and plasma, are used daily to treat persons with a wide range of clinical conditions ranging from acute trauma to genetic diseases. According to the Kalorama Information Report (“Blood, Blood Equipment Testing & Synthetic Blood Markets” 2008), the 2007 worldwide market for RBCs was 85 million units with a market value of $9.25 billion. The report forecasts the market to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 2.9% to 104.5 million units by 2014 with a market value of $11.3 billion. In 2007, the United States reported 14.46 million units of RBCs and 10.3 million units of platelets were transfused (“2007 Blood Collection & Utilization Survey”, USDHHS). In order to maximize the utility of this relatively scarce resource and individualize for patient's needs, each unit of whole blood is separated into its components, each of which, after processing, is stored either in a rotator, refrigerator or freezer prior to transfusion. Each patient has unique needs for a specific component and thus blood is transfused as components rather than whole blood. Each component also has its ideal storage conditions. In the majority of blood centers or blood banks whole blood is collected from volunteer donors, the whole blood is then separated into the cellular and plasma components using manual separation techniques including pressure, centrifugation and/or filtration steps.